Visual Bites: Japa Dog
17 Comments
Tiny Bites Consulting
February 18, 2009
Would you patronize a place that makes you wait up to 20 minutes for a hot dog? Hell no!
Well, that was I used to think. But then Japa Dog came into my life. Now I find that my feet whisk me to their stand on Burrard and Smithe with the smallest of excuses. Like the others queued around me, the wait to order and the wait to receive a Japanese-style hot dog piled with ingredients exotic seems suitable penance for the hedonism that these hot dogs deliver.
The Terimayo is Japa Dog’s top seller. For $4.25 you get an all-beef hot dog smothered with Japanese mayo, teriyaki sauce, fried onions, and shredded seaweed. My favourite.
The Miso Mayo ($5) is a turkey smokie enveloped in Japanese mayo, kaiware (daikon radish sprouts), and miso sesame sauce.
The Okonomi is inspired by the okonomiyaki you see in Japanese restaurants: Kurobuta pork sausage layered with Japanese mayo, fried cabbage, dried bonito flakes, and okonomi sauce. This one is pricey at $6.25. Blame the Kurobuta for the premium. The combination of toppings is delicious and truly reminds me of okonomiyaki, but the hype over Kurobuta is not warranted, if you ask me. I wonder if they’d let you order a bratwurst and pay extra for the Okonomi toppings.
You don’t have to get East-meets-West at Japa Dog. My husband prefers his $4 turkey smokie the way he’s always had it. Even without the fusion twist, we agree that Japa Dog does hot dogs better than their counterparts in the rest of downtown Vancouver.
News Flash: new location coming soon!
Japa Dog’s second location by Burrard Skytrain station is imminent. I asked them when I should speed over there to try their new menu. They’re not sure. Could be next week. Could be next month. It’s a little frustrating not to be able to calendar this joyous occasion, but there’s a silver lining: now I’ve got a reason to frequent Japa Dog until they give me an answer.
Japa Dog
Corner of Burrard & Smithe | Downtown
Soon to be on the corner of Burrard & Pender | Downtown
japadog.com
Categories: Downtown, Food, Restaurants, Visual Bites
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17 Responses to “Visual Bites: Japa Dog”
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Never have I salivated for a hot dog (with seaweed no less!) before 10am. Lovely write up, miss! You make street meat look so glamorous!
I, too, am guilty of creating excuses to visit Japadog. Although, it is also conveniently located in front of Sutton Wine Merchants, so excuses aren’t hard to come by and there is plenty to do while waiting the 20 minutes for the dog.
In the words of Ice Cube: “I eat turkey. I love turkey”.
omg, burrard & pender?! i might finally drag myself off to try one of those dawgs … that one with the bonito flakes look delicious …
you’ll have to go back and update when the 2nd location opens
“In the words of Ice Cube: “I eat turkey. I love turkey”.”
Ahahahhaah. Love it. That cracks me up EVERY TIME I see that.
Japadog rocks. The office I work at is about 4 minutes away
Whoo!
Hi Karen
Finally someone is giving credibility to the lowly hot dog (my favorite food in the world). I can hardly wait until we come to Vancouver in March to try a Japadog ……..how did I know that the plain hot dog in the photo – with Ketchup & mustard was Kurt’s favorite!!
Love, Mom
Having a hotdog is one of my guilty pleasures, and if it’s a JapaDog…
In my personal experience, I have traveled all the way down from Surrey just to treat myself to a JapaDog hoping I’ll get there in time to catch them still open!
It is a place that I talk about out here in Toronto and I wish there was something like it here
Latest post by Tien: Kevin’s Bash
Thanks for the update! On their blog on Jan-31, they’d announced their getting the license for the 2nd stand but also noted that it might be a while yet before its up and running though. Sounds like its still the case. But good to know the fanbase is aware!
Latest post by shokutsu: Lloyd’s Patty Plus – Calgary, AB
I always forget where exactly on Burrard Japadog is. This usually ended up with me and a friend starting at Burrard skytrain, making our way South, inevitably getting sidetracked before actually making it all the way to Japadog.
Latest post by Bruce: Neurosis
We never stopped to try… but everytime we’re attracted by the smell, saying “hmmmmmmmmmmm”
You finished to convince me: we’ll try next time !
I must be one of the few people who have not tried a Japadog. I really need to get out there!
Latest post by Sherman: Gourmet Pita
Love love love Japadog.. I should try making a replica of it at home [the terimayo] .
Ohhh Japadog, THE best hotdogs I’ve ever had. EVER. Thinking about it makes me salivate!
Going to Iceland in June, supposedly their hotdogs are phenomenal…will report back!
Hey Karen! Japadog on Burrard and Pender is now open! I can see it from our office window so when i saw the line-up was gone (about 1:30pm, after the lunch rush!), I went down and had my first Japadog! Yum!
Christina: Looking forward to your Icelandic hot dog correspondence in June.
Cheryll: Thanks for the update! Will schedule a visit next week.
Loved the post. I’ve wanted to visit Japadog forEVER. When I finally made the trek, it was the one day he was closed. You’ve definitely inspired me to try it again, and narrowed down my choices to boot.
I’ll be blogging about this and I’ll make sure to tag back
Keep up the good work, site looks great.
Latest post by Kirsten B.: Wine, Wine, Wine
great photos of the hot dogs! yum.
Latest post by Geoff: Cafe Crepe (Downtown, Granville)
[...] it all in reality, but what’s clear is with today’s popularity of the california roll, Japadog, and ninja turtles, cultural borrowing and fusion has become rather commonplace. However, I [...]